Week 7: Moonshot 4 Expert Review
Katie Schuler
Materials from today's class
- No lecture slides today
- Moonshot 4 (below)
In-class Activity: Moonshot 4 Expert Review
Due Friday, October 30th at 11:59pm
Objectives
- Get your solutions evaluated by an expert in Rapid Evaluation Stage 3
- Identify your moonshots biggest risks based on the feedback you receive
- Revise your solution(s) based on your expert feedback
Looking ahead
- Next time, you’ll send your best idea to the Foundry, where you will start to flesh out exactly how you would accomplish your moonshot if you had the resources.
Tasks:
- Make a list of at least 4 experts your team would like to contact
- Draft an email to request their feedback (recommendations below)
- Send your emails!
Blog post for this assignment:
- Remind us of your question and your solution
- Describe at least 3 pieces of feedback you received and how it has changed your solution.
Alternative post (if you cannot get in touch with an expert, -5 points):
- Remind us of your question and your solution
- Describe at least 4 potential issues with your solution. What problems do you foresee arising? What issues have you not addressed yet? What are a few concerns you have about the feasibility of your moonshot? Research this 4 issues and write about what you found.
Submission
- Submit your moonshot assignment by publishing your blog post and submitting the published URL to your post here: Moonshot Blog Post 4 Submission Link
Email tips:
People are busy and you are asking them for a favor. Be kind, be brief, and don't be surprised if you don't get a response. Send a reminder if you haven't heard in a few days. Here is some suggested wording.
Dear Dr. X
use doctor, even if you aren't sure. making the error in the other direction is worse!
I hope this email finds you well.
A brief "how are you?" is not necessary, but is nice.
We are writing to you because you are an expert on Y. We {heard about you, know about you, learned about you} through Z.
Let them know how you know them. For example, your paper on TOPIC, this person gave us your name as an expert on Y, your work on Y, etc.
We are a group of students at the University of Pennsylvania working on a semester-long project to come up with a solution to a big problem in language and the brain INCLUDE A ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY OF YOUR PROBLEM.
Let them know what you are doing.
We have a few solutions in mind and are hoping to get some feedback from an expert like you. We are wondering if you'd be willing to meet with us sometime in the next week or two to discuss our solutions.
Let them know what you want them to do
We know you are really busy, so we appreciate your considering this. Even a 30 minute meeting would be really helpful to us. Alternatively we can send our solutions in writing if it would be easier for you to respond via email. [include a link to your blog post re: solutions if you like].
Acknowledge that you respect their time and appreciate the help. Give them a few ways to help you.
Thanks!
your names